During the week of August 10th through 16th, Rutkoski Fencing, Inc. and Merut Construction Corporation joined thousands of other companies in the nationwide National Safety Council event called “Safe + Sound Week”. The annual event is intended to raise awareness and remind workers about the importance of proactive health and safety programs. Our proactive approach to safety is to find and correct potential hazards before an incident occurs. The safety team applied this event to create a friendly competition by providing an opportunity for employees to be awarded as an individual and as a field team for participation.
Employee participation was encouraged in two ways. The first approach was through on-site field safety. Throughout the week, members of the health, safety, and environment department performed site inspections on each project site. Scaled on a point system, the project site with the safest inspection would be awarded a catered lunch of their choice. We also embraced our employees collective experience and knowledge by asking to submit and correct potential hazards that were found for additional points.
The results…. above average inspections for multiple sites!
Not just one winning team as originally thought, but four project teams were awarded a catered lunch due to their effort in actively identifying and correcting any hazards.
The second part of OSHA’s “Safe + Sound Week” was to send in a picture with a caption regarding why safety matters to each worker. Those that participated received a $10 gift card as a separate prize from the safety inspection competition. The responses revealed that the main reason our employees are dedicated to performing work safely is simply their families. Many employees sent in pictures of their children, significant others, pets, and parents and added captions of how their family relies on them to stay safe.
One employee replied, “Safety matters to me because it ensures we all make it home to our family and friends. We are all responsible for ensuring the safety of those around us. We owe it to ourselves, our families, our friends, and our teams to make sure we all go home safely”.
Another sent a picture of his two obviously well taken care of dogs and simply said, “Safety matters to me because I want to see my two buddies every night.”
Events like “Safe + Sound Week” highlight our dedication to continuously improving our safety culture through three elements. The National Safety Council recognizes the elements of a successful safety program to be a symbiotic relationship between management leadership, worker participation, and a systematic approach to finding and fixing hazards in the workplace.
Rutkoski Fencing and Merut Construction looks forward to participating in safety events like this in the future. Our Health, Safety, and Environmental Manager incorporates safety into everyday by continuously benefiting from new and inventive ways to encompass a culture of safety to ensure every employee returns home safely to their loved ones every single day.
Stay safe!
